Up & Down

[Baldwin Yamaha Piano Centre]

John R Fortiner wrote:
> 
> List:  If you can give me some clues, hints, etc. regarding this
> situation I would really appreciate it.
>         I have, over the past 3 years, been servicing a Bradford uprt. in
> a nearby church.  The first time I tuned it I had to lower pitch at A4
> 42c.  The lady that was in charge of the music for the church told me
> that the last person that tuned the piano had had to raise the pitch
> quite a bit and wondered if he had raised it too far.  At the time, I
> thought that was a possibility.  However, since then, I have had to raise
> the pitch 40c in the spring, then lower it in the fall, then raise it
> again in the spring, etc.  The pitch changes have been about equal each
> time within 3-4c.  I am stumped as the humidity has been between 30 and
> 45% each time that I have worked on it.  Yesterday, I tuned the piano
> again (fall tuning) to find that the instrument was 45c high  at A4 and
> closer to 80c high in the top octave(no wonder they said it sounded
> terrible with their other instruments.  The bass is staying rather stable
> (rises and falls a few cents), but the tenor and treble really stray from
> where they are supposed to be.
>         Before you ask, yes, I have tightened all available plate
> hardware that goes into the wood structure.  Tuning pins are nice and
> tight, but not overly so.  The piano is about 2 feet from a baseboard
> heater which has a shield to protect the back of the instrument from
> gross temp/ R.H. changes.
>         The church's flooring is wooden over a basement that also has a
> piano in it.  The downstairs piano stays nice and stable (+/- 3-4c).  Is
> it possible that the flooring is shifting enough with weather changes to
> "tweak" the piano THAT far?
>         Any and all input regarding this will greatly be appreciated.
> 
>         Thanks in advance for any input that you can give in this matter.
> 
> 
> John Fortiner
> 
> e-mail: pianoserv440@juno.com
Hi John,
        Most pianos that I have encountered with this problem have had a
very low amount of bearing, or negative bearing. Measured at the flat
time in the cycle.  If you have a low amount on the sharp side of the
cycle I'll bet there's none when the piano dries down. 
  Depending on the value of the piano it might not be worth fixing if
this is the cause.
  Hope this helps
  Roger Jolly